Preliminary  Legislative  Report 


Special 

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Committee  of  the 

Board  of  Aldermen 

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of 

The  City  of  New  York 


Appointed  to  Investigate  the  Police 
Department,  Pursuant  to  Resolu¬ 
tion  Dated  August  5,  1912 


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The  Special  Committee,  appointed  August  5, 
1912,  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen  of  New  York  City, 
to  investigate  the  Police  Department,  submits  the 
following  preliminary  legislative  report: 

Nature  of  This  Report. 

This  preliminary  report  upon  legislation  is  sub¬ 
mitted  at  this  time  in  order  that  it  may  be  avail¬ 
able  for  use  during  the  present  session  of  the  Legis¬ 
lature.  In  its  final  report  the  Committee  will  make 
a  summary  of  its  entire  investigation,  and  set  forth 
therein  its  general  conclusions  and  recommenda-  • 
tions  upon  administrative  matters. 

Need  of  Legislation. 

The  police  problem  is  primarily  one  of  adminis¬ 
tration.  The  present  situation  demands  sustained 
administrative  efficiency.  There  is  no  magic  in  the 
legislative  printing  press.  New  legislation  should 
be  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  admin¬ 
istrative  machinery  of  the  Police  Department.  Sec¬ 
tions  of  the  Charter  needing  amendment,  together 
with  the  amendments  recommended,  we  have  sched¬ 
uled  in  Appendix  A.  Bills  now  pending  before  the 
Legislature,  with  our  recommendations  thereon,  we 
have  scheduled  in  Appendix  B. 

Home  Rule. 

The  administration  of  the  Police  Department  has 
been  hampered  by  mandatory  state  legislation,  con¬ 
trolling  administrative  routine.  This  is  inimical 
to  efficiency  and  subversive  of  discipline.  State 


4 


Appointment, 

Tenure, 

Removal. 


Charges  may  be 
preferred  by 
Board  of  Estimate 
and  Apportion¬ 
ment  or  Board  of 
Aldermen. 


Uncertain 

Tenure 

Destroys 

Discipline. 


lows  at  present  deal  with  the  organization  of  the 
department,  its  different  ranks,  grades,  salaries, 
qualifications  for  appointment  and  promotion,  man¬ 
ner  of  distribution  of  the  force,  platoons  and  tours, 
structure  and  quota  of  the  detective  bureau,  traf¬ 
fic  squad,  the  suspension,  trial  and  punishment 
of  delinquent  policemen,  etc.  All  such  matters 
should  be  left  entirely  to  local  authorities. 

The  Police  Commissioner. 

The  Police  Commissioner  should  be  appointed  by 
the  Mayor  for  a  term  of  eight  years,  and  should  be 
eligible  for  reappointment.  He  should  be  subject 
to  removal  by  the  Governor,  and  also  by  the  Mayor, 
but  in  either  case  only  after  charges  preferred  and 
after  he  has  been  given  opportunity  to  defend  him¬ 
self  in  a  public  hearing. 

In  addition  to  the  right  of  the  Mayor  to  prefer 
charges,  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment 
or  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  by  majority  vote,  should 
be  given  the  power  to  prefer  charges  against  the 
Police  Commissioner,  and  it  should  be  provided 
that  such  charges  must  be  heard  by  the  Mayor  at  a 
public  hearing,  after  reasonable  notice. 

This  change  should  not  take  effect  until  January 
1,  1914. 

We  believe  this  recommendation  to  be  of  vital 
importance.  During  the  past  eleven  years  we  have 
had  eight  commissioners  appointed  by  Mayors  of 
different  temperaments  and  political  faiths.  There 
have  been  three  Commissioners  during  the  present 
city  administration.  The  brief  and  uncertain  ten¬ 
ure  of  the  Commissioner  has  seriously  impaired  the  * 
efficiency  of  our  police  administration.  Former 
Commissioners  have  testified  before  us' that  the  force 
does  not  respect  its  head.  Captains  and  inspectors 
upon  our  witness  stand  have  shown  this  lack  of  re¬ 
spect,  This  is  a  deplorable  situation,  and  should 
not  be  tolerated. 


5 


It  has  been  said  that  the  policy  of  the  Police 
Department  should  be  the  Mayor’s  care  and  respon¬ 
sibility,  and  that  he  should  have  the  power  to  re¬ 
move  the  Commissioner  at  will.  The  appointment 
of  a  Commissioner  should  not  be  a  matter  of  poli¬ 
tics.  Moreover,  there  should  be  no  such  thing  as  a 
“policy”  with  respect  to  the  enforcement  of  law. 
Unenforceable  laws  should  be  repealed.  People 
who  disapprove  of  them  should  seek  relief  from  the 
Legislature,  not  from  the  Police  Department.  The 
Police  Department  should  no  more  have  a  “policy” 
with  respect  to  the  enforcement  of  law  than  the 
United  States  army  should  have  a  policy  in  foreign 
affairs. 

In  this  respect  the  Police  Department  is  essen¬ 
tially  different  from  other  departments.  Moreover, 
it  is  unique  in  its  difficulties  and  problems.  Hence, 
eight  commissioners  in  eleven  years.  The  Com¬ 
missioner  must  have  long  experience  in  the  depart¬ 
ment  to  become  efficient.  General  Bingham,  who 
has  served  the  longest  period  as  Commissioner,  has 
testified  before  us  that  it  takes  between  one  and 
two  years  for  a  Commissioner  to  acquaint  himself 
with  the  conditions  and  circumstances  confronting 
him.  The  Commissioner  should  know  the  history 
and  character  of  every  superior  officer.  He  should 
study  and  learn  the  spirit  of  the  force  at  large,  in 
order  that  he  may  sympathize  with  it,  or  combat  it, 
as  occasion  requires. 

Deputy  Commissioners  and  Inspec¬ 
tors. 

The  increase  or  decrease  in  the  number  of  Deputy 
Commissioners  should  be  determined  by  the  Board 
of  Estimate  and  Apportionment  and  the  Board  of 
Aldermen.  The  present  method  of  appointment 
and  demotion  of  inspectors  should  be  continued, 
but  the  power  to  alter  this  method  should  be  vested 
in  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment  and 


Should  be  no 
“  policy  ’’  of 
enforcement 
of  law. 


Police 

Department 

Unique. 


Number  of 
deputies  and 
inspectors  to  be 
determined  by 
local  authorities. 


Chief  of  Police 
with  fixed  powers 
not  favored. 


Studied  only  as 
police  problems. 


Graft  to  be 
eliminated  by 
effective 
administration. 


Department  of 
Public  Morals 
opposed. 


6 

the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  not  controlled  by  legis¬ 
lative  enactment.  We  have  been  much  impressed 
with  Mayor  Gaynor's  suggestion  that  more  deputies 
and  fewer  inspectors  are  needed  just  at  the  present 
time.  We  think  it  important  that  a  Commissioner 
should  be  able  to  choose  a  uniformed  cabinet  as 
well  as  a  civilian  cabinet,  and  these  in  such  num¬ 
bers  as  occasion  requires.  Therefore  we  do  not 
favor  the  appointment  of  a  permanent  Chief  of 
Police.  A  Commissioner  should  have  power,  as  at 
present,  to  select  a  Chief  Inspector  as  the  head  of 
the  uniformed  force,  and  to  prescribe  for  him  ap¬ 
propriate  duties  and  authority.  To  create  a  Chief 
of  Police  with  authority  fixed  by  law  would  be  to 
create  a  subordinate  more  powerful  within  the 
limits  of  his  authority  than  the  Commissioner. 

Gambling1  and  Prostitution. 

The  Committee  has  considered  these  subjects  only 
as  they  involve  police  problems  under  present  laws. 
We  have  not  studied  them  as  moral  problems.  Such 
investigation  would  have  been  beyond  the  scope  of 
the  resolution  under  which  the  Committee  was  ap¬ 
pointed.  We  have  received  shocking  evidence  of  a 
widespread  corrupt  alliance  between  the  police  and 
gamblers  and  disorderly  house  keepers.  The  elim¬ 
ination  of  this  grafting  is  one  of  the  most  difficult 
and  important  problems  with  which  we  are  con¬ 
fronted.  Believing,  however,  that  the  problem  is 
essentiallv  an  administrative  one,  Ave  shall  deal 
comprehensively  with  it  in  our  final  report.  We 
feel  that  a  Commissioner  with  a  fixed  tenure,  with 
an  adequate  staff  of  deputy  commissioners,  with  an 
ample  fund  for  the  engagement  of  a  secret  service 
entirely  outside  of  the  department,  Avould  in  time 
secure  and  maintain  an  administrative  efficiency 
that  would  reduce  this  eAil  to  a  minimum. 

We  are  opposed  to  transferring  the  enforcement 
of  these  laws  to  a  Department  of  Public  Morals,  as 


7 


provided  in  a  bill  now  pending  before  the  Legisla¬ 
ture.  We  are  also  opposed  to  the  suggestion  that 
a  Board  of  Social  Welfare  be  established  for  the 
same  purpose. 

These. suggestions  have  been  almost  unanimously 
condemned  by  former  commissioners,  deputy  com¬ 
missioners,  and  other  public  men  appearing  before 
us. 

The  responsibility  for  law  enforcement  should 
not  be  divided  between  two  commissioners  or  agen¬ 
cies. 

To  place  the  responsibility  in  the  hands  of  200 
or  300  “morals  policemen”  would  have  a  tendency 
to  lose  the  information  which  should  result  from 
the  daily  observations  of  10,000  policemen  covering 
every  square  inch  of  the  City  of  New  York.  Evi¬ 
dence  before  us  has  shown  that  a  proper  system  of 
reports  from  the  latter  would  be  of  inestimable 
value  to  a  Commissioner  in  ascertaining  conditions 
and  enforcing  these  laws. 

Contact  cannot  be  entirely  removed  because  po¬ 
licemen  must  still  enter  gambling  and  disorderly 
houses  and  saloons  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing 
laws  against  larceny,  burglary,  assault,  murder  and 
many  other  crimes.  This  might  cause  either  fric- 
tion  or  collusion  between  the  two  police  forces,  and 
would  not  eliminate  the  collection  of  graft. 

The  standard  of  men  deliberately  enlisting  for 
service  in  a  department  having  jurisdiction  only 
over  gambling  and  disorderly  houses,  whether  re¬ 
cruiting  from  within  or  without  the  Police  Depart¬ 
ment,  would  certainly  be  very  low. 

The  suggested  bills  provide  that  there  shall  be 
no  civil  service  restriction,  and  thus  they  turn  back 
the  clock  of  civil  service  reform. 

Moreover,  even  if  any  such  change  be  desirable, 
it  is  clearly  a  subject  which  should  be  left  entirely 
to  local  administrative  and  legislative  authorities. 


Such  department 
would  divide 
responsibility; 


cannot  remove 
contact; 


would  lower 
standard  of  men; 


would  be  against 
civil  service 
reform ; 

matter  for  local 
determination. 


8 


Home  Rule 
recommended. 


No  legislation 
until  completion 
of  investigation.1 


Photographs  and 
measurements  of 
those  held  by 
magistrate  on 
felony  charge. 

Removal  after 
acquittal 
discretionary 
with  court. 


Excise. 

We  recommend  that  excise  regulation  for  the* 
City  of  New  York  be  determined  by  local  legislative 
authority.  We  feel  that  this  subject  is  essentially 
one  demanding  home  rule. 


Pensions. 

We  are  having  made  a  thorough  and  exhaustive 
study  of  the  pension  system  of  the  Police  Depart¬ 
ment,  including  its  past  workings  and  probable  fu¬ 
ture  results  to  the  taxpayers  of  the.  City.  We  have 
gone  far  enough  to  discover  that  a  pension  fund 
once  boasting  a  surplus  is  now  bankrupt,  and  mak¬ 
ing  constantly  increasing  demands.  A  trained 
corps  of  experts  is  making  this  investigation,  which 
is  not  yet  completed.  Any  recommendation  by  us  at 
this  time  would  be  premature.  We  think  no  pen¬ 
sion  legislation  placing  a  further  load  upon  the 
City  should  be  passed  at  the  present  session.  We 
shall  deal  with  the  subject  fully  in  our  final  report. 


Rogues’  Gallery. 

We  recommend  a  law  authorizing  the  Police  De¬ 
partment  to  photograph  and  take  linger  prints  and 
measurements  of  all  persons  held  by  a  magistrate 
or  on  a  bench  warrant  upon  a  charge  constituting 
a  felony.  In  the  event  of  the  acquittal  of  the  de¬ 
fendant,  the  return  of  these  records  to  be  ordered 
in  the  discretion  of  the  judge  trying  the  case.  In 
the  event  of  a  dismissal  of  the  charge  by  the  Grand 
Jury,  the  records  to  be  returned  to  the  defendant 
upon  application.  A  law  to  this  effect  has  been 
strongly  urged  before  us  by  judges,  district  attor¬ 
neys  and  officials  of  the  Police  Department,  past 
and  present. 


9 


Special  Patrolmen. 

We  recommend  that  no  special  patrolmen  be  ap¬ 
pointed  until  a  bond  lias  been  filed  to  indemnify 
those  who  may  suffer  by  misconduct  of  such  special 
patrolmen. 


Boiler  Squad. 

The  inspection  of  steam  boilers  and  the  licensing 
of  stationary  engineers  are  not  police  functions,  and 
should  be  placed  under  a  bureau  to  be  established 
for  that  purpose  by  local  authorities. 

House  of  Detention. 

The  House  of  Detention  for  witnesses  should  be 
removed  from  the  Police  Department,  and  should  be 
placed  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Department  of 
Correction. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUBJECTS. 

Administrative  Routine. 

We  recommend  changes  in  various  minor  mat¬ 
ters  of  administrative  routine,  as  will  appear  more 
fully  in  Appendix  A. 

Perjury. 

We  endorse  the  recommendation  of  the  District  Would  stop 
Attorney  that  the  Penal  Law  should  provide  that  turmns  out 
anyone  who  swears  upon  two  different  occasions  in 
a  criminal  proceeding  in  a  materially  different  way, 
upon  a  material  point,  should  be  liable  to  punish¬ 
ment  without  reference  to  which  statement  be  true 
and  which  false.  Although  the  District  Attorney 
and  the  court  see  perjury  wilfully  committed  in  the 
recantation  of  statements,  it  is  usually  impossible 


10 


to  prosecute,  because  of  lack  of  proof  as  to  which 
statement  is  true  and  which  false.  This  will  reach 
the  evil  of  police  officers  “-turning  out”  cases. 

Health  Department. 

We  recommend  that  the  Police  Commissioner  be 
relieved  from  his  duty  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Health.  His  duties  in  the  Police  Department  are 
more  than  enough  to  occupy  his  time  and  energy. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

HENRY  H.  CURRAN, 

Chairman ; 

RALPH  FOLKS, 

JAMES  HAMILTON, 

O.  GRANT  ESTERBROOK, 

W.  AUGUSTUS  SHIPLEY, 
FRANK  L.  DOWLING, 

FRANCIS  P.  KENNEY, 

JAMES  J.  SMITH. 

ROBERT  F.  DOWNING, 

Secretary. 


EMORY  R,  BUCKNER, 

Counsel. 


11 


APPENDIX  A. 

Suggested  Amendments  to  Specific 
Sections  of  the  New  York  Charter. 

Section  270.  Police  Commissioner — Salary ;  Dep¬ 
uties ;  Salaries ,  Etc. 

This  section  should  be  amended  to  conform  to  the 
recommendations  heretofore  made.  The  Commis¬ 
sioner  should  be  appointed  upon  January  1,  1914, 
for  a  period  of  eight  years,  should  be  eligible  to  re¬ 
appointment,  should  be  removable  either  by  the 
Governor  or  the  Mayor,  but  only  upon  charges,  and 
after  a  public  hearing. 

In  addition  to  the  right  of  the  Mayor  to  prefer 
charges,  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment 
or  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  by  majority  vote,  should 
be  given  power  to  prefer  charges  against  the  Police 
Commissioner,  and  it  should  be  provided  that  such1 
charges  must  be  heard  by  the  Mayor  at  a  public 
hearing,  after  reasonable  notice,  and  with  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  the  Commissioner  and  witnesses  to  be 
heard. 

The  salary  of  the  Commissioner,  the  number  of 
deputies  and  their  salaries,  should  be  determined 
by  the  local  authorities. 

Section  272.  Police  Commissioner ;  Authority  To 
Make  and  Enforce  Rules  and  Regulations. 

Should  be  amended  to  give  the  Police  Department 
the  undisputed  right  to  photograph  and  take  finger 
prints  and  identification  measurements  of  all  per¬ 
sons  held  by  a  magistrate,  or  upon  a  bench  warrant, 
upon  a  charge  constituting  a  felony.  In  the  event 
of  a  discharge  by  the  Grand  Jury,  the  defendant 
should  have  the  right  to  receive  from  the  Police  De¬ 
partment  these  records.  In  the  event  of  an  acquit¬ 
tal  upon  an  indictment,  it  should  be  left  to  the  dis- 


12 


cretion  of  the  judge  trying  the  ease,  whether  the 
defendant  should  receive  these  records. 

Section  281.  Police  Force ;  Qualifications  of  Mem¬ 
bers;  Publishing  Names  and  Residence  of  Ap¬ 
plicants  and  Appointees. 

Should  he  amended,  substituting  for  the  “City 
Record”  two  daily  papers  in  New  York  City  of  at 
lease  100,000  paid  circulation. 

Section  288.  Promotions. 

The  length  of  time  in  which  a  patrolman  must 
have  served  in  a  particular  grade  before  being  eligi¬ 
ble  for  promotion  should  be  left  to  the  Civil  Service 
Commission. 

The  provisions  with  reference  to  inspectors 
should  be  left  as  at  present,  except  that  the  word 
“nineteen”  should  be  stricken  out,  leaving  the  num¬ 
ber  of  inspectors  to  be  determined  by  the  local  au¬ 
thorities. 

Section  290.  Central  Office  Bureau  of  Detectives. 

The  grades  and  salaries  of  detectives,  and  the 
maximum  number  thereof  should  be  determined  by 
the  local  authorities. 

Section  292.  Police  Commissioner;  Duties  and 
Powers. 

Should  be  amended,  giving  the  Commissioner 
power  to  suspend  policemen  without  pay  pending 
investigation  of  alleged  misconduct  and  trial  of 
charges.  If  the  charges  are  dismissed,  no  pay  to  be 
forfeited.  Under  the  present  law  the  Commissioner 
lias  no  right  to  suspend  without  pay  until  the  ser¬ 
vice  of  written  charges.  If  the  charges  are  sus¬ 
tained,  pay  can  be  forfeited  under  the  present  law 
only  from  the  time  of  suspension  after  written 
charges  have  been  served,  and  not  from  the  time  of 
suspension  before  such  service  of  written  charges. 


13 


The  last  sentence  of  this  section,  “Said  Police 
Commissioner  may  grant  leaves  of  absence  to  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  force  for  a  period  not  exceeding  five 
days,”  is  apparently  modified  by  Section  303.  In 
any  event,  it  should  be  repealed  for  reasons  given 
under  Section  303. 

Section  299.  Salaries  of  Officers  and  Members  of 
the  Force. 

The  creation  of  grades,  ranks  and  the  fixing  of 
salaries  should  be  determined  by  the  local  authori¬ 
ties. 

Section  300.  Police  Commissioner  ;  Rules,  Etc., 
For  Government  and  Discipline  of  Police  De¬ 
partment  and  Police  Force;  Trials;  Dismissals. 

The  mandatory  direction  to  the  Commissioner  to 
provide  two  places  for  trials  of  policemen,  each  cov¬ 
ering  certain  boroughs,  should  be  repealed.  This  is 
a  matter  of  administrative  routine  and  should  be 
left  to  the  discretion  of  the  Police  Commissioner. 

To  make  this  section  conform  to  the  recommen¬ 
dation  made  under  Section  292,  with  reference  to 
suspension,  the  word  “suspended”  should  be 
stricken  out  in  the  sentence  providing  that  no  man 
shall  be  suspended  until  written  charges  have  been 
preferred  against  him. 

The  word  “reprimanded’  should  be  stricken 
out  because  the  Commissioner  will  have  power 
under  another  section  to  reprimand  a  police¬ 
man,  after  a  trial  and  upon  conviction,  and  it  may 
well  be  that  some  future  Commissioner  will  desire 
to  establish  a  system  of  demerits  or  reprimands  by 
captains  and  inspectors.  The  presence  of  this  word 
“reprimanded”  in  this  section  might  prove  an  ob¬ 
struction.  It  serves  no  useful  purpose  as  it  stands, 
because  it  preserves  no  substantial  right. 


14 


Section  302.  Police  Commissioner ;  Punishments 
Uy;  Limitations  of  Suits  for  Reinstatements , 
Etc. 

The  Commissioner  should  be  given  the  right  to 
delegate  to  a  Deputy,  or  to  any  member  of  the  uni¬ 
formed  force,  power  to  conduct  trials  and  impose 
punishment  upon  delinquent  policemen.  The  Com¬ 
missioner  should  have  the  right  to  revoke  or  modify 
any  such  punishment  within  thirty  days  from  the 
time  of  its  imposition.  This  is  extremely  impor¬ 
tant.  Although  the  law  provides  that  the  Commis¬ 
sioner  may  delegate  the  power  to  conduct  a  trial  to 
a  Deputy,  he  himself  must  find  the  delinquent  guilty 
and  assess  the  punishment.  The  Corporation  Coun¬ 
sel  has  written  an  opinion  recently  to  the  effect  that 
in  all  cases  the  Commissioner  must  read  the  minutes 
of  the  trial,  unless  he  himself  presided  thereat. 
Heretofore  it  has  been  the  practice  for  the  Com¬ 
missioner  to  read  the  minutes  onlv  in  those  cases 

t/ 

where  dismissal  was  imposed  as  a  punishment. 
During  1911  two  thousand  three  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  members  of  the  Department  were 
either  fined  or  punished.  The  Commissioner,  under 
the  opinion  of  the  Corporation  Counsel,  must  read 
the  minutes  in  every  case,  and  personally  impose 
the  punishment.  This  places  too  much  burden  upon 
the  Commissioner.  The  provision  that  the  Com¬ 
missioner  may  modify  or  revoke  the  sentence  of  a 
Deputy  or  member  of  the  uniformed  force  gives 
sufficient  protection  to  policemen  and  prevents  any 
subordinate  from  having  more  power  than  the  Com¬ 
missioner  himself.  The  recommendation  that  this 
right  of  delegation  be  extended  to  members  of  the 
uniformed  force  is  made  because  a  Commissioner 
may  desire  to  establish  a  system  of  trial  for  minor 
offences  by  captains  and  inspectors.  It  is  a  waste 
of  time  to  try  men  at  headquarters  for  appearing  in 
broken  collars  or  unblacked  boots. 


15 


The  Commissioner  should  have  the  right  in  his 
discretion  to  have  forfeited  or  withheld  in  monthly 
installments  the  pay  of  policemen  fined. 

Section  303.  Police  Force ;  Resignation  and  Ab¬ 
sence  on  Leave .  * 

.  • 

.  .  ■  .  .  •  •  ••»*..'  .* .  • »  y..  /■ ..  • 

The  twenty-day  limit  should  be  repealed.  Occa- 

•14  ■  •  .  ■  f*  J  •  -  '  fe  ** 

sions  frequently  arise  where  policemen  are  called 
upon  to  perform  extended  extra  duty.  Strikes, 
riots,  emergencies  of  various  kinds  impose  hard¬ 
ships.  The  Commissioner  should  have  the  right  to 
compensate  for  unusual  service  by  granting  leaves 
of  absence  with  pay.  If  lie  cannot  be  trusted  with 
such  a  detail,  he  should  not  be  trusted  with  the 
Police  Department. 

That  portion  of  this  section  dealing  with  resig¬ 
nations  has  given  rise  to  considerable  discussion  by 
witnesses  before  us  because  of  ambiguities.  We 
suggest  that  it  be  amended  to  read  as  follows : 

•  *-  ..  •  **.  •'*.  •  J  ..  •  *  -  „*•  A.%  i . 

“Under  penalty  of  dismissal,  no  member  of 
the  police  force  shall  withdraw  or  resign,  ex¬ 
cept  by  the  permission  of  the  Police  Commis¬ 
sioner.  If  any  member  of  the  police  force  be 
absent  for  five  consecutive  days  without  leave, 
the  Commissioner  may,  in  his  discretion,  dis¬ 
miss  such  member  without  notice  or  trial.” 

Section  308.  Police  Force;  Special  Patrolmen; 
When  May  Be  Appointed;  Military  Assistance. 

One  of  the  several  objections  urged  against  the 
appointment  of  special  patrolmen  is  that  the  cor¬ 
poration  or  individual  employing  them  is  not  liable 
for  their  misconduct,  since  they  are  peace  officers. 
We  recommend  that  this  section  be  amended  to  pro¬ 
vide  for  the  filing  of  a  bond  in  the  sum  of  $2,000,  for 
each  special  patrolman  to  indemnify  anyone  injured 
through  his  misconduct. 


16 


Sections  312,  313,  314. 

These  sections  provide  for  the  detail  of  police 
officers  to  the  Department  of  Health  the  Depart¬ 
ment  of  Public  Parks,  and  the  Department  of 
Bridges.  A  section  in  the  Tenement  House  Law 
also  provides  for  the  detail  of  police  officers  to  the 
Tenement  House  Department.  These  provisions 
should  be  repealed.  We  have  not  been  impressed 
by  the  reasons  advanced  for-  this  farming  out  of  po¬ 
licemen  to  other  city  departments. 

Section  321.  Police  Commissioner ;  To  Provide  Ac¬ 
commodations  for  Detention  of  Witnesses. 

We  ag  ree  with  Commissioner  Waldo  and  many  of 
his  predecessors  that  the  House  of  Detention  should 
not  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Police  Depart¬ 
ment.  It  should  be  transferred  to  the  Department 
of  Correction. 

Sections  342-345.  Boiler  Inspection  '  and  Station¬ 
ary  Engineers. 

We  recommend  that  boiler  inspection  and  licens¬ 
ing  of  engineers  be  removed  from  the  Police  Depart¬ 
ment  and  placed  under  the  charge  of  a  bureau  to  be 
established  for  the  purpose  by  local  authorities. 

Section  350.  Special  Patrolmen  for  District  Tele¬ 
graph  Officers. 

Should  be  repealed,  provision  for  special  patrol¬ 
men  being  made  by  Section  308. 

Sections  351-358.  Police  Pensions. 

No  pension  legislation  whatever  should  be  en¬ 
acted  at  this  session,  for  reasons  already  given. 

Section  1543-A.  Police  and  Fire  Commissioners 
May  Rehear  Charges  and  Reinstate  Members 
of  Force. 

We  recommend  the  repeal  of  this  section.  Our 
investigation  shows  conclusively  that  its  provisions 


17 


i 


i 


are  inimical  to  discipline.  The  present  right  of  a 
dismissed  policeman  to  secure  a  court  review  af¬ 
fords  him  ample  protection  against  an  unjust  dis¬ 
missal. 

Three  Platoon  Law. 

The  present  tliree-platoon  law  should  be  con¬ 
tinued  until  changed  by  local  authorities.  All  such 
matters  should  be  determined  by  local  legislation. 


18 


t  u 


i vy'V(" 


APPENDIX  B. 


Pending  Bill  Affecting  Administration  of  the  Police 


Department,  to  which  our  Attention  has  been 
Galled. 

i ; ;  »• ; ;  [\  t ,  i ' !  !  .  a  1  •  .  *i ' .  ■  ■  ■  ■  .  < 

Assembly  No.  1225,  Irit.  1146,  Mr.  Hammer. 

Authorizes  the  Police  Commissioner,  in  his  dis¬ 
cretion  to  reinstate  William  H.  Finley,  a  resigned 
member  of  the  Police  Department,  to  the  position 
of  patrolman.  It  recites  that  William  H.  Finley 
resigned  from  the  Department  in  1902.  We  oppose 
this  bill  as  special  legislation. 


Assembly  No.  282,  Int.  278,  Mr.  Taylor. 

r  Amends  Section  1543-a  of  the  Charter,  extending 
the  operation  of  such  section  to  include  a  demo¬ 
tion  as  well  as  a  dismissal.  Inasmuch  as  we  favor 
a  repeal  of  Section  1543-a,  we  oppose  this  exten¬ 
sion. 


:■■  ■>■  / 1 : : 

Assembly  No.  293,  Int.  289,  Mr.  Ingram. 

‘■C  •  i  i .  :';•••  /  I  > f  >  - 

Identical  with  above. 

)  *  *  '  *  ; '  /I  U 


j.  j  'A  A  y  r  f  _  .  .  .  .  t 

Assembly  No.  567,  Int.  553,  Mr.  Ingram. 
{.Identical  with  above. 

*  *  *  *  *  J  .  f  /X  '  ■  '  *  *  1  '  ’  '•  *  * 

in  if  HI  .  .  t  ■  ■  ■  i  ■  - :  i  ;  ,•  '  .  j  .  t  ■ .  f 

Assembly  No.  1157,  Int.  1084,  Mr.  McMahon. 


Provides-  for  the  absorption  of  the  members  of  the 
Aqueduct  Police  into  the  Police  Department  of 
New  York  City,  without  examination  or  qualifica¬ 
tion.  We  oppose  this  bill,  because  such  matters 


should  be  determined  by  local  authorities. 

rmtm>  :>d  faitjtnl? f;  t  *»;■.•<  iv ,r>0  v  •• 

Assembly  No.  1043,  Int.  991,  Mr.  Greenberg. 

J  !f;  •  i 

Creates  a  Department  of  Public  Morals  to  take 
charge  of  the  enforcement  of  laws  regarding  gam- 


19 


bling,  prostitution  and  excise.  It  creates  a  large 
staff  of  captains,  lieutenants,  sergeants,  doormen, 
surgeons  and  policemen,  all  “public  morals’’  offi¬ 
cers  without  any  civil  service  restrictions.  We 
oppose  this  bill  for  reasons  already  given. 

Senate  No.  156,  Int.  154,  Mr.  Griffin. 

Fixes  salaries  of  members  of  the  police  force. 
Salaries  should  be  determined  bv  the  local  authori¬ 
ties. 

*  '  ""  ,  '  "  .  .  ’  ^  a  -  JL 

Assemblv  No.  458,  Int.  453,  Mr.  Willmott. 

Provides  that  a  member  of  the  force  arrested  for 
a  crime,  shall  not  be  dismissed  upon  charges  based 
upon  the  same  facts  until  final  determination  of  the 
criminal  charge. 

This  is  inimical  to  discipline,  and  an  interference 
with  administrative  routine.  Members  of  the  Police 
Department  awaiting  trial  upon  criminal  charges 
should  not  be  continued  in  the  Department  if  the 
Commissioner  has  in  his  possession  facts  sufficient 
to  justify  their  dismissal. 


Senate  No.  663,  Int.  608,  Mr.  Boy lan. 

This  bill  provides  that  no  'fine  or  demerit  shall  be 
counted  against  a  member  of  the  Police  or  Fire  De¬ 
partment  for  promotion  unless  the  same  has  been 
imposed  within  three  years  of  the  time  of  examin¬ 
ation  for  promotion.  We  oppose  it  as  an  interfer¬ 
ence  with  civil  service  administration. 

Assembly  No.  738,  Int.  709,  Mr.  Caughlan. 

Identical  with  above. 

Senate  No.  420,  Int.  399?  Mr.  White. 

Amends  the  present  three-platoon  law.  We  op- 
pose  all  such  laws  because  they  should  be  deter¬ 
mined  by  local  legislation. 


20 


Senate  No.  770,  Int.  710,  Mr.  Frawlev. 

Provides  that  police  matrons  shall  receive  the 
same  salary  as  patrolmen.  We  oppose  this  bill  be 
cause  salaries  of  members  of  the  Department  should 
be  determined  by  local  authorities. 


Police  administration  in  New  York 
City  can  never  become  efficient  so 
long*  as  bills  similar  to  these  here 
scheduled  are  passed  by  the  Legisla¬ 
ture.  Matters  of  administrative  rou¬ 
tine  must  be  left  to  the  Police  Com¬ 
missioner.  Matters  of  Civil  Service 
administration  must  be  left  to  the 
Civil  Service  Commission.  Matters 
of  police  quota,  ranks,  grades,  salar¬ 
ies  must  be  left  to  the  Board  of  Esti¬ 
mate  and  Apportionment  and  the 
Board  of  Aldermen. 


